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After a six-hour stand off in a dispute over gloves, heavyweight David Price will go through with his European title fight with Erkan Teper. Lead promoter Z!-Promotion GmbH was concerned enough with the impasse to be looking for a replacement, but Price’s promoter Sauerland Event finally announced “We have a fight! David Price gonna do the business tomorrow.”

Unbeaten IBF, WBA and WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) will receive a proclamation from Clark County Commissioner Mary Beth Scow proclaiming Monday, July 20, as “Sergey Kovalev Day on the Las Vegas Strip and throughout Clark County.” The honor comes five days before Kovalev makes his long-awaited Sin City debut on the HBO-televised card promoted by Main Events Saturday, July 25, at Mandalay Bay. Kovalev faces #1-ranked contender Nadjib Mohammedi in the 12-round championship bout.

After analyzing what happened last Saturday in Acapulco, the World Boxing Counci, in coordination with FECOMBOX, has declared the bout between Mariana Juarez and Lorena Taborda a “No Contest.” Twenty official judges certified by the WBC scored the fight on video. In spite of there being an acknowledged and enormous difference between watching a fight live at ringside, as opposed to seeing it on TV, the results were unanimous and the conclusion was to declare the match a “No Contest” and the scorecards of two Judges as unacceptable. The consensus scorecard was 97-93 in favor of Taborda.

The official scorecards had popular Mexican boxing icon Mariana Juarez winning by controversial split decision:

Judges Cuevas and Ibarra along with Supervisor Luis Medina were suspended for two months. They will undergo training, evaluation and specific certification by the World Boxing Council Ring Officials Committee.

David Price (19-2, 16 KOs) and Erkan Teper (14-0, 9 KOs) took to the scales today ahead of their European Heavyweight title fight on Friday night at the MHP Arena in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Price, who tipped the scales at 249.3, looked in fine form as he attempts to wrestle the vacant European crown from the undefeated Teper, weighing in at 252.

“I feel great,” said the former British and Commonwealth Champion. “I’m calm, collected and ready to go. This is a good weight for me. I’ve come in a little lighter than my last fight, but I’ve had a longer camp so that’s to be expected. I honestly believe I’m in the best shape of my career. Now I just want to get in there and get the job done. I’m not worried about Teper, I just need to concentrate on what I’m doing. He’s a good boxer, he’s undefeated and has some decent wins on his record, but he’s never fought anyone like me. Mentally and physically, I couldn’t be better prepared. I’m 100% confident and ready to bring the belt home!”

“This represents a dream I have for professional boxing – more world heavyweight champions together in one place than ever before,” said Kris Lawrence, owner of The Heavyweight Factory. “And one of them, Shannon Briggs – already a former two-time heavyweight champion of the world—chasing his own dream of defeating yet another world heavyweight champion.”

Tickets cost $154, $104 and $54. All seats are reserved and available at all Ticketmaster outlets online at www.myhrl.com, www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone: 1-800-745-3000. Doors open one-hour prior to show start time.

Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne (22-0, 19 KOs) will engage in a warm up contest against 41-year-old Argentinian Gonzalo Basile (66-11, 30 KOs) next month before switching his attention to WBA heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev. The heavy-hitting Aussie is the current mandatory challenger for Chagaev’s crown, but a series of uncontrollable issues have led to the fight being delayed. Now, Hatton Promotions has taken the decision to allow Lucas to defend his WBA Intercontinental title in Melbourne on August 14.

“It’s a very tough fight and a potential banana skin for Lucas, but everyone knows how hard he hits and I think Lucas will score another knockout,” Ricky said. “Lucas is the kind of guy who wants to fight every week and he’s obviously been disappointed with the delay [to the Chagaev bout], but he now understands that it’s not the fault of Hatton Promotions or the WBA. Chagaev’s people wanted to delay the fight so they could face Francesco Pianeta and paid Lucas money to step aside. That fight got pushed back and then Fres Oquendo went through the courts to get a rematch with Chagaev. (more…)

Andre Berto has NOT signed on the dotted line to fight Floyd Mayweather on September 12th … but they’re getting there … sources connected to the deal tell TMZ Sports. As we previously reported, Mayweather dropped Berto’s name as a possible opponent — and Berto WANTS to fight Floyd — but the fact of the matter is the deal has not been finalized. Our sources tell us … the two sides have spoken — but without a firm deal in place, we’re told Mayweather’s camp is still reaching out to other potential opponents in case Berto falls through. That being said, our sources tell us it’s pretty likely the two sides WILL come to an agreement — this isn’t at all like the Pacquiao situation which took FOREVER to close. We’re told there should be some significant movement in the next few days. Stay tuned …

Scott Quigg says Kiko Martinez is the most dangerous opponent of his reign as WBA World Super Bantamweight champion as they clash for the title on Saturday (July 18) at the Manchester Arena live on Sky Sports – but says the challenger is not ready for the new and improved champion.

Quigg swatted aside his first three challengers inside three rounds before Hidenori Otake took him the distance in Liverpool in November. The Bury star picked up a hand injury during that fight that forced him onto the sidelines.

The 26 year old believes that time out has been beneficial ahead of his toughest night, as he enters the fight with the hard-hitting former IBF ruler in the best physical and mental place in his eight-year career. (more…)

Curtis “Showtime” Stevens (27-5, 20 KOs) the 30-year old middleweight from Brownsville, Brooklyn has signed a new promotional deal with Main Events. Stevens originally signed with Main Events in February 2013. During his first two years with the promotional outfit, he won the vacant NABF Middleweight Title against Saul Roman, challenged Gennady Golovkin for the WBA Middleweight World Championship and made his debut DirecTV BKB debut against Gabriel Rosado.

Stevens had only this to say about his new deal, “Time to become champ!”

Main Events CEO Kathy Duva said, “We love Curtis. He’s such an exciting fighter. I’m so happy that he’s decided to remain with Main Events and we look forward to getting him back in the ring!”

Anthony Joshua (13-0, 13 KOs) MBE will face Gary Cornish (21-0, 12 KOs) in his first major title bout with the vacant Commonwealth Heavyweight title on the line at The O2 in London on September 12, live on Sky Sports.

Joshua has raced to 13-0 with 13 devastating KO wins since turning pro and now looks to add major belts to his Olympic gold medal, starting with the Commonwealth strap.

Scotsman Cornish will have other ideas though, as the unbeaten IBO Inter-Continental champion looks to travel south of the border and shock Joshua. The 28 year old is no stranger to boxing in London with three of his 12 KO wins from 21 fights coming in the English capital. The clash also represents a return to bigtime Heavyweight boxing for Kellie Maloney, who recently joined the Gary Cornish team to assist the Inverness man’s long-term manager and promoter Tommy Gilmour. (more…)

Unbeaten Michigan cruiserweights Jordan Shimmell (19-0, 16 KOs) and Isiah Thomas (14-0, 6 KOs) get their big opportunity for national exposure and a chance to improve their ranking on Saturday, July 25 as they clash on national TV. Their bout is the televised feature attraction under the main event Beibut Shumenov-BJ Flores Interim WBA title fight on the Premier Boxing Champions presentation on NBCSN. Shimmell and Thomas will vie to fill the vacant USBA title over a scheduled ten rounds at the Palms Casino Resort’s Pearl Theater in Las Vegas. (more…)

We already reported WBO, WBA and IBF light heavyweight world champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev’s comments on Jean Pascal. Kovalev also weighed in on some other topics Wednesday during an hour-long chat with reporters. He will make his mandatory IBF title defense against Nadjib “Irondjib” Mohammedi on July 25 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

On Nadjib Mohammedi:
“I can say that I will kick his ass.”

On Mohammedi working with Abel Sanchez, Kovalev’s former trainer:
“Who is this Abel? I don’t know any Abel.”

On WBC champion Adonis Stevenson:
“He is a piece of sh!t.”

On where he stands among all current boxers:
“I don’t think about this at all. I don’t care where I am. It is most important what I have, not where I am.”

On “real fighters” in boxing:
“I can count on my left hand who are the real fighters in boxing: Gennady Golovkin, Miguel Cotto and Keith Thurman and I don’t remember more. And maybe me.”

Mexican superstar Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (48-2-1, 32 KOs) will be back in action against Marcos Reyes (33-2, 24 KOs) on Saturday in El Paso, Texas. “I am trying to get back to the level I once was at. I spent a lot of time out of the ring with non-boxing issues, but now I feel fully focused in the ring,” said Junior on Wednesday. “I think 168 is a good weight class for me. Going into my last fight I had an extended period of time off and I didn’t know how my body would respond. I will have two more fights this year, but I can’t look past this Saturday. I respect my opponent, because all my opponents are looking to beat me. Training with Robert Garcia has been great. I have a great connection with him because he knows how fighters are feeling in the ring.”

Garcia stated, “He has sparred just around 100 rounds, that’s more than he has done in any other training camp. The training camp was much easier than I expected. I’m training Julio not just to beat Marcos Reyes, but I’m training Julio to get him better for three or four fights from now to look at something real big. Right after Julio’s loss to [Andrzej] Fonfara, he got right back in the gym to prepare for this fight. He wants to fight on Saturday and then have two more fights before the end of the year. I think this is exactly what Julio needs, to stay active. The fighters that fight just once or twice a year lose their rhythm.”

Junior’s father “El Gran Campeon Mexicano” Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. added, “Julio Jr. is in very good shape. He’s had a very good training camp with Robert Garcia and I’m very happy with him as a trainer. This fight is a must-win fight for my son. He cannot lose. It will hurt his career very much to lose again.”

For a long time now Michael Bisping has been a lynchpin of the UFC’s European plans. He’s a high-level fighter and a marketing dream. He knows the essentials of selling a fight and he’s happy to play the hero or the villain in order to build up some pre-fight hype . . . Click here for more at UFC.com
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COMING UP NEXT: ULTIMATE FIGHT NIGHT GLASGOW is LIVE on FOX Sports 1 on Saturday, July 18 at 1 PM ET/10 AM PT . . . Click here for more

The “Victory at the Venetian” fighters strolled the red carpet during Wednesday’s “Grand Arrival” at the Venetian Macao. In the main event, the vacant IBF jr welterweight belt formerly held by Lamont Peterson will be on the line as IBF #2 Ik Yang (18-0, 13 KOs) meets #1 rated Cesar “El Distinto” Cuenca (46-0, 2 KOs). Yang is a -700 favorite to become China’s second professional fighter to win a world title. Cuenca, just two wins away from equalling Floyd Mayweather’s 48-0 mark, is a +500 underdog. Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum is in Macao to promote the event.

Doors open 7:30 PM, First bell at 8:30 PM. Telemundo Network will televise the main event at 11:35 PM EST live in the US and Claro Sports will televise in Latin America.

The show is being presented by Tuto Zabala, Jr., All Star Boxing, Inc. Tickets are already on sale at Kissimmee Civic Center 201 E. Dakin Ave., Kissimmee, FL http://www.kissimmee.org/index.aspx?page=45 or by calling (407) 935-1412.

Written off by practically everyone in the MMA world entering 2015, 36-year-old Frank Mir now has two consecutive knockout victories, the most recent coming in a thrilling slugfest Wednesday night at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, as he dropped and stopped Todd Duffee in less than a round . . . Click here for more at UFC.com

A September heavyweight title challenge against WBC champion Deontay Wilder could be in the cards for Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (36-4, 31 KOs) if he can get past “Big” Fred Kassi, (18-3, 10 KOs) on Saturday afternoon at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas. “The main thing is to give the fans a great show,” said Arreola Wednesday. “I am going to go for that title. I’m working and grinding. Training camp has been going very well. I have been in camp for six weeks. The main thing about this fight is my boxing performance.

“My weight is what it is, this is me. I may not have the six-pack, but I will have the punch to knock somebody out. I am committed to boxing. I love boxing, and this training camp has been good for me. I would be a fool to say that it doesn’t cross my mind to fight again for the title. At the end of the day, Saturday is much more important than a title shot. I want my opponent out of that ring as soon as possible.”

Featherweight knockout artist Sam Sicilia showed off his ground game in prelim action at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego on Wednesday, using his grappling attack to win a unanimous decision over Yaotzin Meza . . . Click here for more at UFC.com
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COMING UP NEXT: ULTIMATE FIGHT NIGHT GLASGOW is LIVE on FOX Sports 1 on Saturday, July 18 at 1 PM ET/10 AM PT . . . Click here for more

UFC superstar Ronda Rousey received the Best Fighter ESPY on Wednesday night, beating out Floyd Mayweather. “I can’t help but really say that I wonder how Floyd feels being beat by a woman for once,” said Rousey when presented with the award. “I’d like to see you pretend not to know who I am now!”

Unbeaten McJoe Arroyo today had a light workout in El Paso, Texas, for his fight against Arthur Villanueva for the vacant IBF super flyweight belt this Saturday, July 18, at the Don Haskins Center, live on Showtime at 10:00 pm. The 2008 Olympian from Puerto Rico, Arroyo (16-0, 8 KOs), did several rounds of shadowboxing, hit the mitts with his trainer Anthony Otero, the punching bag, and jumped rope. His brother McWilliams trained too at the Redstar Fitness in El Paso. “These days we are working this way because we are close to the weight and mostly work for weight maintenance,” said McJoe, who is between 116 and 116 ½ pounds. “This morning we ran, and came into the gym in the afternoon to do the rest of the training.”

It’s easy to become preoccupied pontificating on a fighter’s motivation heading into a bout. Any bout. The belt could be on the line, they could be one impressive performance away from battling for the belt, they’re bouncing back from a loss or trying to keep a streak alive. With one’s most important fight always being their next one, a fighter makes the walk to win . . . Click here for more at UFC.com
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COMING UP NEXT: ULTIMATE FIGHT NIGHT SAN DIEGO is LIVE on FOX Sports 1 on Wednesday, July 15 at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT . . . Click here for more

Current WBA “interim” welterweight champion Andre Berto has commented on a rumored September 12 clash with WBC/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather. The proposed bout would reportedly be on CBS, not Showtime PPV.

“I’m happy to be in the running for this fight and am definitely up for the challenge,” said Berto. “I know it will be a great fight if it happens.”

WBO, WBA and IBF light heavyweight world champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev had the media all to himself when challenger Nadjib “Irondjib” Mohammedi was a no-show on an international conference call to promote their fight on July 25 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Kovalev, who is a 100:1 favorite at some online sportsbooks to beat Mohammedi, was more animated when speaking about former opponent Jean Pascal, who is fighting on the undercard.

“I don’t want to speak about Pascal because he does not deserve to get attention,” said Kovalev. “He lost my respect for him even before the fight. I cannot respect even his team. He is piece of sh!t. Same as Stevenson. I think all fighters make terrible fighters in Canada. I don’t respect and I want to kick his ass again and much, much bigger this time. If it will happen rematch, he will sleep in four rounds because he is a piece of sh!t.”

Former world champion Beibut Shumenov (15-2, 10 KOs) hosted a media workout at a private gym in Las Vegas on Tuesday as he prepares for his Premier Boxing Champions on NBCSN showdown with B.J. Flores (31-1-1, 20 KOs) on Saturday, July 25 live from the Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

Here is what Shumenov had to say on Tuesday:

Beibut Shumenov: “B.J. Flores is a good, tough cruiserweight who has a lot of good experience. I am prepared to fight with any style and against any style. I’m ready for anything in the ring and I want to make it a great fight for the fans.

[On working with head trainer Ismael Salas for a second fight] “Ismael is the coach I dreamed about fighting. We have a lot of similarities in our boxing backgrounds. I learned in the Soviet Union system and the Cuban system that Ismael teaches is very similar. Me and Ismael had great chemistry right away from the first day of training.”

[On fighting at cruiserweight] “All I thought about was making weight when I fought at 175. There was too much stress on my body to lose weight and it was also affecting me psychologically because all I thought about was losing weight. Now, as a cruiserweight, I have no problems making weight. There is no stress at all.”

Hollywood Fight Night makes another quick return to the world famous Florentine Gardens Nightclub on Saturday, July 25, 2015. The 11th installment of the series will mark three shows in less than three months as Top Rank’s Solo Boxeo Tecate on Unimas returns to Tinseltown.

The Solo VBoxeo Tecate main event on Unimas will feature former WBC and IBF Junior Flyweight and WBO and WBA Flyweight World Champion, Brain “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria (35-4, 21 KOs). The Filipino-American superstar and longtime Freddie Roach trainee went undefeated in three bouts last year and will make his 2015 debut on July 25th. Viloria will take on former four-time world title challenger Omar “Lobito” Soto (23-11-2, 15 KOs) in a rematch of a 2010 fight that saw Soto lose a 10 round split decision in the Philippines. Soto is no stranger to upsetting Filipino boxers as he has a win over Glenn Donaire (15-4-1) for the WBC’s Latino Flyweight title and was the long-time holder of the WBC’s FECARBOX Flyweight title. (more…)

Anthony Crolla says he knows he has to put in the performance of his life to take Darleys Perez’s WBA lightweight title from him on Saturday night at the Manchester Arena – and has promised his fans that he will deliver. Crolla had a January world title shot at Richar Abril cruelly taken from him when he was brutally attacked when interrupting burglars at his neighbour’s home in Chadderton in December, with the fractured skull and broken ankle destroying that fight. It has been a gruelling road back from ‘Million Dollar,’ but he returned to the gym and moulded himself into the best shape of his life ahead of his clash with the classy Colombian, and the 28 year old believes he will grab his destiny with both hands on Saturday night.

“I need a career-best performance on Saturday night to win,” said Crolla. “But the way I have prepared and the way I feel physically and mentally, I know I can bring that performance out of myself. (more…)

Actions speak louder than words – at least that was the motto at today’s final press conference ahead of the ‘Final Showdown’ between WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (42-4, 28 KOs) and Robert Stieglitz (47-4-1, 27 KOs) on Saturday night at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Germany. Summarizing the fighter’s fourth world championship contest, promoter Kalle Sauerland put it aptly. “This is not a fight that needs to be hyped,” said Sauerland. “You need only look at the first three fights between Arthur and Robert to know what we have in store for Saturday night. I’m expecting another entertaining battle and a fitting end to their epic rivalry.”

Following their three previous encounters, Abraham holds the advantage, with two wins to one defeat. As the fourth fight approaches, the defending champion made clear his intention to claim a conclusive third victory. “This is the end,” said the 35 year-old. “There will be no fifth fight. I’ve trained extremely hard and I’m ready for whatever Robert has to offer. After Saturday, there will be no questions remaining. I will prove once and for all that I’m the better boxer.”

The challenger from Magdeburg remained unfazed by his opponent’s comments instead renewing his promise to regain the WBO crown. “I know how to beat Arthur and I’m ready to settle the score,” said Stieglitz. “In my opinion the verdict from our last fight was unjust, but it’s not about the past. It’s about the here and now, and on Saturday I will become world champion again!”

The Boxeo TELEMUNDO Ford Summer Season Series opener will feature Aaron “Timmy” Garcia (14-3-1, 10 KOs) of Guadalajara Mexico, Mexico against Daniel “El Duro” Rosario (10-1, 9 KOs) of Caguas, Puerto Rico. The two will square off Friday in a bout scheduled for 10 Rounds with the WBO Latino super welterweight title on the line in another edition of the famed Mexico vs Puerto Rico boxing rivalry. Garcia will enter this fight as the underdog fighting Rosario in a very pro-Puerto Rican venue. But he’s not fazed by this and would rather just focus on Rosario. (more…)

So it’s on – Tyson Fury vs. Wladimir Klitschko, for the heavyweight championship of the world. It’s nice to be so far out from the fight, with all the politics and business side of it behind us, and know exactly where we stand. We’re absolutely delighted. The business side of making fights like this is the worst part of boxing, so it’s great to get it all out of the way and put it to the back of our minds; both camps know what they’ve got to do and they can just concentrate now on the boxing side of it.

As for Tyson, he’s totally motivated for this fight. No surprises there. This is his fourth week in, his weight is coming off nicely and we’re very happy with him. I just can’t wait for it to come round now. It’s a massive occasion and it makes us all determined to go that extra mile. (more…)

France is one country which presently doesn’t have a world champion. Nowadays, the sweet science is scarcely mentioned in the French press and absent from national TV. Things may change however in the land of Marcel Cerdan as three talented young boxers are positioning themselves in the ratings to challenge for a world title in the near future. This trio is composed of jr middleweight Michel Soro, jr lightweight Romain Jacob and flyweight Vincent Legrand. Here are profiles of these three young men. (more…)

NYC boxing promoter Dmitriy Salita and his Brooklyn Brawl series will heat up Coney Island on August 25 at MCU Park, the home of baseball’s Brooklyn Cyclones. The last professional boxing event at the venue occurred 14 years ago when Hector Camacho Jr. defeated Jesse James Leija via a controversial, referee-halted TKO. Headlining will be featherweight Alex Miskartachian (25-3-1), a world-rated former world title challenger and two-time European champion from Armenia. Miskartachian will take on Cornelius Lock (22-7-2).

“I am very excited to bring the Brooklyn Brawl series to the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones in Coney Island,” said Salita, who fought out of Flatbush, Brooklyn, as a professional. “Coney Island is a world-famous gathering place and a hub in New York City, where people come to get rest and relaxation and fabulous entertainment. August 25 will be a historic event that will feature world-class boxing in a festive atmosphere. I encourage everyone to ‘punch up’ their summer plans and join us!” (more…)

WBO junior welterweight champion Terence Crawford has arrived in Los Angeles. On Tuesday night, the pride of Omaha accepted the Leadership award from The Shadow League in Beverly Hills. Crawford is in town for the ESPY awards on Wednesday where he is nominated in the “best fighter” category.